David H.
Yelp
I was terribly excited for what was sure to be a fabulous meal. After all, CoC has been one of my favorite restaurants on ACK for a while and then I learned that it was recently purchased by Joseph Keller (who was supposedly involved with his brother, Thomas Keller, at The French Laundry and Per Se). Before the meal, I was already thinking of coming back next week for Lobster Monday - yes, I was excited for this meal. It was a bit of a red flag to see empty tables. I can't recall the last time I've seen that at this place...if ever. I initially didn't think much of it, it was a rainy evening. The wine list was a bit better, but terribly overpriced. I ordered a Caymus Cab ($180), as I thought the meal (beef Wellington) deserved a good partner. The popovers, despite being served oddly (literally dumped off the serving dish onto my plate) were pretty good. Surprised the butter was lacking, but I could overlook that. The wedge salad was quite tasty - an elevated version of a steakhouse tradition. I wasn't thrilled that they were serving it family style for you to serve yourself, but again, I could get over it. The beef Wellington came out and looked delicious. Served with fingerling potatoes and sautéed broccolini. The broccolini with garlic didn't make sense for this dish at all and was a dish I'd expect at someone's house with a quick "Sunday Supper", but the star of the dish, so I thought was the Wellington. The biggest disappointment came when I tried to saw through that mess of a beef Wellington. It looked so good, but was sooooooo over cooked that it was gray and stringy. The sauce helped resuscitate it enough where you could get it down, but that was about all I could say. While you are eating, the wait staff is nowhere to be found and didn't bother asking how everything was until you were nearly done - I assume they knew the drill. When I told the waitress that the steak was way over cooked she promptly went back to the chef and came back with the response that "they are all cooked the same way". What??? Is this guy that egotistical? Hey, Joey...YOU ARE NOT THOMAS KELLER. Luckily I had chatted up the table next to me (actually one over, because, as I mentioned, there were plenty of empty tables) and they had the same experience. So yes, the "chef" was right, they were all cooked the same way - all completely over done. So the other table also voiced their opinion and the waitress went to check on other tables. She eventually came back to the other table and explained that the chef was getting used to a new oven. Are you kidding me? Do that on your own time, with your own money! I'm not your test kitchen. The waitress didn't even come back to my table to offer that sorry excuse - nor any response whatsoever. I was so disappointed in the entree and the lack of hospitality that I didn't even bother sticking around for dessert. When I asked for the check the waitress was very apologetic and I truly believe she felt bad. She mentioned that she got caught up dealing with some other issue and forgot to follow up. She took the meals off the check, which was a nice gesture. Unfortunately, too little,too late. I'd rather have paid for a meal that I'd enjoyed. Needless to say, the CoC WAS a fabulous restaurant, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. Good bye, CoC. I miss you already. Maybe one day a good restaurant will take over the space so it can once again be a gem. I'll be waiting.